


Faithful

by Brithna



Category: Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-24
Updated: 2012-09-24
Packaged: 2017-11-14 22:31:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/520194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brithna/pseuds/Brithna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s time to tell Nigel and it turns out that Miranda is a serious romantic at heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faithful

_**Part One** _

Andy was typing furiously trying to finish the last bit of an article before she had to run out the door to accompany Doug on a gay-boy-pity-party club outing. His latest and greatest just dumped him and she volunteered to tag along with him mostly to ensure he didn’t get too drunk or do anything severely stupid.

Satisfied with the rough draft, she closed her laptop and stretched, looking around the room. She loved this room. The dark wood paneling, the low lights, the awesome desk. Aside from the bed that took up too much room this was the best office ever. Oh, well. There was no time to dwell on redecorating right now. She needed to be out of the house before Nigel arrived.

Tonight was the night. Miranda was going to break the news to him since they both agreed that it was time to start letting people in.  Once the press found out, they were likely to be in for it for quite a while and Nigel of all people deserved to hear this news first hand.

Andy checked herself over one last time in the hallway mirror and ran upstairs to Miranda’s office.

“Hey, honey I have to go. Nigel will be here any minute and Doug has probably already started without me.”

Miranda’s sad face was too cute for words. “Alright, if you must. Please promise me that you will be careful darling. I know Douglas is in need of your services, but please…just be careful.”

 “I’ll be careful I promise. Honestly, I’m only planning to be gone a few hours. Hopefully after a few drinks I can persuade him to go home.”

Andy walked around the desk and sat down in Miranda’s lap, wrapping her arms around Miranda’s neck. “I love you. Good luck tonight.”

Miranda kissed her lightly “Thank you darling, I’ll need it.”

“I think he’ll take the news better than you expect.” Andy placed soft kisses down Miranda’s neck.

“Andrea, you need to stop doing that or Douglas will be without a date.”

“Hm. You’re right. I’ll just have to pick this up where I left off at a later time.”

Miranda cupped her chin and kissed her deeply but pulled away before Andy could properly respond with a kiss that would likely end with them both naked on the couch. “Yes you will. Now go. Nigel will be here any second and I can’t have you here letting the cat out of the bag before I’ve had a chance to at least soften the news with wine.”

Andy climbed off of her and kissed the top of her head. “Okay. I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.”

“Have fun. Give Douglas my regards.”

“I will. Love ya.”

***

Miranda listened to the front door close and let her head drop back to look at the ceiling. “Please let this go well.” Not only was Miranda about to tell Nigel that she and Andrea were seeing each other, she had to tell him they were living with each other. He was probably going to pass out, especially since it had been going on for a full eight months. It was a pure miracle that no one had found out yet. Perhaps the press was a little blind after all.

According to them, their coming out would be nothing spectacular. No press conferences for the masses or full page ads. They just planned on doing things out in the open and letting the press figure things out for themselves. Miranda refused to live her life behind a closed door any longer and prayed the press would lose interest and move on to bigger and better things quickly.

The door bell rang and Patricia’s internal alarm system went off. No matter how many hundreds of dollars Miranda spent on training for that horse of a dog, she still barked every time someone so much as touched the door bell.

Miranda made her way downstairs and snapped her finger to shut off the alarm system which caused Patricia to retreat to the living room where she would no doubt lay on a couch that she was clearly banned from. So be it. It was a pointless battle.

Miranda opened the door and ushered Nigel in out of the cold.

“Nigel, darling…” She treated him to her standard air kiss and he returned the gesture.

“Miranda, I would say it’s good to see you, but I only last saw you a few short hours ago so I’ll say it’s good to see you here at home.”

“That seems to fit the situation. Put your coat away and let’s go into the kitchen. I hope you don’t mind eating in there. I’m afraid the dining room is a bit of a mess at the moment.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Currently there is a model of The Globe Theater being built on my dining room table. The girls now owe me several thousands of dollars because that glue is _never_ going to come up.” Miranda sighed and brought Nigel into the kitchen. She considered herself lucky that the whole theater wasn’t permanently stuck to the table.

“You should hire them to work in the art department. God knows we need some fresh blood.”

Miranda would sooner see her daughters work at Home Depot before she allowed them to enter into the fashion business. Which was shocking, but true. She wanted her daughters to have a different life in spite of all the glamour and money that came with this profession. Miranda would not wish her job on anyone. Especially her daughters. “Ah, I do believe they have other aspirations. Such is life. But you’re right; we do need some fresh blood. Why don’t you start looking into that tomorrow?”

“I do believe I will. What’s on the menu, I’m starved. I had lunch with James this afternoon and could hardly eat a thing. He would not shut up long enough for me to chew.”

Miranda poured them both some wine and started plating the food. Andrea and the girls had cooked a feast. “We have salmon…string beans and a few other things. The cook outdid her self.” Indeed.

“It looks wonderful. Thank you for having me. I must say I was a bit surprised. It’s been forever since you have invited me.”

Miranda took her plate to the table “Yes I know, darling. We shall have to correct that in the future, but tonight I wanted to discuss a few things with you.”

“Well do go on. I have a feeling this had nothing to do with _Runway_. Am I correct?”

Miranda tried not to choke on her salmon. She wanted to get a little further into the meal before they spoke but it was too late. If she stalled now he would see right through it. “Yes…in a way. It might have a small amount to do with _Runway_ but for the most part you are correct in your observation.”

“Ah, well please continue. This salmon is delicious by the way.”

“I will be sure to tell the cook you gave it a favorable review.” Andrea would be thrilled. She always stressed out about cooking salmon. Suddenly, Miranda was feeling a hint of stage fright. “Well frankly darling I’m not quite sure how to break this news to you and I am certainly unsure of how you will take this…”

Nigel instantly got a worried look on his face like she was about to tell him something positively dreadful. “Oh God, Miranda you’re not sick are you? It’s not the girls is it?”

“No, no, nothing of the sort. It is of a rather personal nature but nothing that I myself consider…to be bad.” Her choice of words there was deplorable but Miranda really couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Nigel I wanted to tell you that I’ve been seeing someone.”

Nigel drew in a deep, surprised breath “What? I had no idea! My goodness…”

“Yes indeed.”

“Well who is it? I cannot believe you’ve been keeping this a secret from me. I thought we were better friends than that.” He laughed it off playfully but she could tell he was a bit mystified as to why she had kept it from him.

“I only kept it from you because it was necessary. It wasn’t something I was prepared to let people know about until now.”

“Miranda you might as well spill it before I die right here at the table, and I’d rather not die since this is such wonderful meal.”

Miranda shifted in her seat a little and played with her napkin. She regarded him hesitantly then, as Nigel has so eloquently put it, spilled the beans. “Nigel, I’ve been seeing Andrea. You remember her of course?”

Nigel’s face went blank and he blindly reached for the wine bottle that was between them. Miranda reached it first and poured more wine for him. “Nigel, did you hear me darling? I am seeing Andrea Sachs.” Miranda looked over at the kitchen counter to make sure the phone was nearby in case she needed to call the paramedics.

“You’re joking. You have to be.”

“No. I am not joking. I would never joke about something like this.”

“I can’t even…you? And Andy? My Six?”

“Yes.”

“Miranda…are you…have you gone insane? The press…”

“Nigel I care nothing for the press. They can go to hell for all I care. I’m telling you now so you hear it from me first. I owe you that.”

“You mean you’re coming out? Now? But the girls…”

“The girls have known all along. They love her. And so do I.” Might as well clarify that now so there is no doubt.

Nigel’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. “You’re serious about this aren’t you? My God.”

“Yes Nigel, I am serious about this.”

“Irv will make a play against you. This will weaken you. The allegations that will come out…”

“Irv cannot touch me. I have already seen to that. Who I am personally involved with has no bearing on the magazine and frankly is none of his business. As for the _allegations_ , what are you referring too?”

“Miranda this is going to be big. I mean my God, this has been going on for how long? Since she was working for you? I mean honestly that wouldn’t surprise me at all after hearing this revelation. You always did have your eye on the girl.”

Yes she had. Miranda couldn’t keep her eyes off Andrea back then and was even worse off now. “No, Nigel this was not going on when she worked for _Runway_.” Why he even thought that was beyond her. Of all the things to assume.

“I don’t believe you.”

Now it was Miranda’s turn to feel her eye balls dislodging themselves from their sockets. “Excuse me? Did I hear you correctly? You don’t believe me?”

“No. No I do not. Is that why she left? Because you finally got tired of having an office affair? Is this the reason Stephen left?”

“Now it is _my_ turn to not believe. Are you honestly asking me these questions in my own home? How dare you?” To say she was pissed was a bit of an understatement.

“You brought me here to tell me this so you should have been prepared for my questions. I’ve known you for over twenty years and this is the most shocking thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth!”

Miranda pushed her plate away and threw her napkin on the table. She had clearly lost her appetite. “Nigel this was not going on then. Either believe that or you may leave.”

“How long then? Tell me.”

“A long time. Around eight months…she’s been living here for over two.”

“What? She’s been living here and no one has found out yet?”

“Calm down and please stop shouting. Yes, she’s been living here and no, no one has found out. We have not taken out an advertisement to make the general populace aware as you can see.”

“Hm, yes I suppose so. I don’t even know what to say Miranda. How did all this start? When did you know?”

“Know what?” Miranda got up from the table and started making coffee.

“Know when you had feelings…for her.”

“A lot longer than eight months.”

“Tell me.”

Why did he need to know so badly? It wasn’t even any of his business but she was going to tell him anyway. It almost made her feel good to know that at least one person in the world would know and hopefully feel happy for her. “Almost two years ago.” Miranda poured the coffee and raided the refrigerator for cream. What a mess. Could no one cook in this house without destroying the refrigerator? At least the end results were well worth it. When she brought everything to the table Nigel still looked like he was trying to solve a math problem.

“That was…that was three months before the Paris trip from hell! That was before your divorce…before everything.”

“Yes it was Nigel. But again let me assure you, nothing happened until eight months ago. Although, I admit that I was…never mind. Have some coffee.”

“No way, what were you about to say? Out with it.” He waved his spoon at her.

Damn it. Why did she even have to go there? No one knew this. Not even Andrea. “I have no idea why I’m about to tell you this, but I’ve been faithful to her since then.”

Nigel’s face took on a puzzled look. “I’m not reading you clearly, darling. I mean I would certainly hope you’ve been faithful to her for these past eight months. I’ve certainly never known you to cheat.”

“No…you’re missing the point. I have been faithful to her…even back then. Two years ago. As soon as I knew…as soon as I knew how I felt, I was hers from that moment on. I can’t explain it any better other than to say that I knew in my heart that even if she never felt the same way…I couldn’t be with anyone else. I was already lost to her.”

“Miranda that’s…probably the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Well be that as it may, it was torture. I was still married, remember?”

“Oh God. How did you…when you say you were faithful then…”

“Yes, you’re on the right track now. When I realized my feelings for her, I was not intimate with Stephen again. Ever. The first time I tried all I could think about her and I instantly felt like I was cheating. I just couldn’t…”

“This is why you ask me to escort you to all the Gala’s and parties and such, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Yes it is. I couldn’t date anyone, not even just for an event. I tried that once too and it was nearly killed me.”

Before Nigel could reply, the phone rang and Miranda hurried to answer it. One look at the caller id and she instantly worried. It was Andrea’s cell phone and it was much too early for her to be coming home. Something had to be wrong.

“Hello, darling are you alright?”

“Hey, wow so you said darling…either you’re in another room or you told him.”

“Andrea, answer me.”

“Oh, yes, yes I’m fine. Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you but I wanted to see how things were going because I am dumping Doug before he dumps me. It looks like he’s found a boy –toy for the night and I’m a third wheel. I’m stopping at a book store down the street from the club first, but I wanted to know when it would be safe for me to come home.”

“Now…come home now. It’s cold out and I would like you to be home before it starts snowing. Of course you can, do what you like, but my wish is for you to be home. Now.”

“Take me to the bookstore tomorrow?”

“Darling, I will take you to every single bookstore in this city tomorrow. Just come home.”

“Seriously? You’re on. Remember you said that in the morning.”

“I will. I won’t forget. Take a cab please. You shouldn’t be walking all that way.”

“I am. I see one now. See you in about fifteen minutes. Did everything go ok with Nigel?”

“Yes, I believe so. If you’re not here in fifteen minutes, I am sending out a search party.”

“I’m getting in a cab now. I love you.”

“I love you too darling. I’ll have coffee ready for you.”

“Fantastic. Bye.”

Miranda hung the phone up and rolled her eyes when she saw the amused look on Nigel’s face. “What?”

“You’re in love.”

“Yes, I assume that would be quite obvious.”

“Oh, it is. It truly is. I am shocked but happy for you Miranda.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “You deserve a little happiness, you know. I still can’t believe this has all been going on inside your head for two years and that you were prepared to go to such lengths to be faithful to someone you didn’t even have. It’s certainly admirable.”

“I couldn’t believe it either, but the matter was out of my hands. Ultimately, it’s what drove Stephen to cheat on me…which is understandable I suppose. I had planned to ask him for a divorce when we got back from Paris but he beat me to it. Good riddance. It took me a while to work up the nerve, but I finally got what I wanted. As I always do.” Miranda couldn’t help but smile.

“How did it start? How did you reconnect after all that time?”

“Ah, my friend, I won’t be telling you that no matter how hard you beg. That is just between Andrea and me and always will be. I’m sure you understand.”

“I understand but I still want to know. You’re horrible.”

“I know darling. I know.”

“Well, I’m going to head out before the snow starts falling as you mentioned earlier. Give Andy my love and tell her that I will be calling her soon. Now, give me a hug. It won’t kill you.”

She gave her old friend a hug and an actual kiss on the cheek. He deserved it as a reward for not passing out. He put his coat on and headed down the street to the subway station with a wave and a kiss blown into the frosty air.

Miranda stood outside in the cold and waited for the other half of her faithful heart to come home. 

 

_**Part Two** _

__

Miranda watched Nigel leave and looked up at the night sky. A flurry of snow was whipping through the air and the flakes were lit up by the street lights. The possibility of snow in early November was rare but winter seemed to be knocking on their door early this year. Hopefully by morning the temperature would be back to normal; but in the meantime Miranda would gladly stand here and wait, not giving the still dropping temperature another thought.

Normally she wasn’t this anxious to have Andrea home but tonight Miranda needed to have her close. Her conversation with Nigel had brought back some not so happy memories and a small part of her craved reassurance that Andrea was in fact with her and that it wasn’t all just a dream.

Her heart rate picked up speed as she saw the headlights of the cab turn the corner. Andrea would no doubt be puzzled by her appearance on the sidewalk, but that could be explained away. The cab pulled up to the curb and Miranda stepped up to open the door.

“Miranda, what in the hell are you doing out here?” Andrea climbed out and hugged her. The cab driver graced them with a funny look then drove away. It really didn’t matter now. From this point forward all restrictions were off as far as Miranda was concerned.

“I saw Nigel off and just wanted to wait for you. I’ve only been out here for a moment.” Miranda took her hand and led her into the house. “Here, get your jacket off and go upstairs and change. I’ll get you some coffee.”

Andrea pulled her back for a quick kiss “No, you change too. You’ve been in those clothes all day. It’s time to relax now. Besides, I want to eat a little something before I hit the coffee. I forgot to eat dinner, remember?”

Miranda followed her upstairs and Andrea made quick work of changing into some blue plaid lounge pants and her favorite faded-blue Patriots t-shirt. Miranda never thought it would be possible for something that hideous to look so sexy, but it worked. Quite well.

Miranda put on a silk night shirt and slipped into her robe. “I’m going down while you finish up. Don’t be long.”

“I won’t. Let me plug in my phone and I’ll be down in a second. I expect a full report by the way.”

“Hm, you shall have it. It wasn’t too eventful.”

“Somehow I doubt that. Come on, the phone is plugged in now.”

They headed downstairs and Miranda made Andrea a plate of food. “I’m not quite sure how you forgot to eat but you really shouldn’t do that. You know how you get without food. It’s like a bear comes out or something. You’re worse than the girls.”

Andrea immediately started to wolf down her food “I know…I know. You hardly have the best eating habits so don’t start. Now, tell me about your dinner. Did he pass out?”

“It went well. He didn’t pass out.”

“Awesome, you owe ice-cream now. I won the bet.”

“I made that bet with you while I was under duress. It doesn’t count.”

“Like hell it doesn’t. You tried that excuse on the last bet we made and it didn’t work then either.”

Miranda came up behind her and wrapped her arms around Andrea’s waist while she finished eating. “I hardly think a bet on whether or not I could wipe the floor with you at Mario-Cart is a bet worth bragging about.” That was definitely true. Miranda had to cook a full course breakfast for two weekends in a row over losing that bet, even though she tried to claim inexperience to void the bet. That excuse clearly didn’t work out in her favor.

“You might be right, but I still got breakfast out of the deal. Twice. Enough stalling, sit down and tell me how things went. I want a play-by-play review.”

Miranda had expected nothing less. Unfortunately, the reporter in Andrea always wanted the whole story. Miranda rolled her eyes and took a seat at the table with a fresh cup of coffee. “As I said, it went well. Of course he didn’t believe me at first but he came around. Oddly enough his biggest problem was believing that we were not…involved while you still worked at Runway.”

“You’re kidding. That was his biggest issue?

“Yes, I thought I was going to kick him out of the house but he finally came to his senses. It seems he had some sort of epiphany and claimed that ‘I always had my eye on you’. Do you want a piece of that sinful cake you insisted upon making?”

“No, I’m stuffed. Coffee time.” Miranda got up and put her plate in the dishwasher and brought her a cup of coffee.

“Well, you kinda did ya know. All that looking me up and down. “

Miranda blushed. Okay maybe Nigel was right. That didn’t mean she had to admit to it.

“I am guilty of no such thing. You two make it sound as if I was some sort of drooling caveman.”

“Keep telling yourself that honey. One day I’m sure you’ll believe it. So, what happened after that? Did you tell him when all this started?”

“Yes, I told him. And I told him you were living here. He was surprised the press hadn’t caught on.” Miranda reached across the table and tucked Andrea’s hair behind her ears. “There, that’s better. I couldn’t see your face.”

“You’re so sweet. I love it when you do that. It reminds me of the first time you did it. Speaking of…did you tell him how we met again?’

“Certainly not. That is none of his business.”

Andrea leaned back in her chair and smiled, pointing a finger at Miranda. “Ah, you just don’t want him to know you were stalking me in an airport.”

Miranda rolled her eyes and prepared to defend herself. They would most likely argue over this point for many, many years to come. “I was not stalking you. That is purely a figment of your imagination.”

“I disagree. Do you I need to remind you of what exactly happened that day and how you watched me while you planed your attack?”

Miranda couldn’t help but smile. “I do not need reminding, thank you very much. I remember that day quite well.”

How could she not? Her entire future changed that day. She would remember it forever. Right down to the horrible color of the walls in the airport terminal.

**_ HOW THIS ALL GOT STARTED---INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW _ **

Miranda groaned and prayed for strength. Not only could she not believe she had slept all the way from New York City to Los Angeles, but she still had another flight to go. Fabulous.  Miranda always hated to fly but after 9/11 it was even less appealing. From that day on for almost a solid year she had nightmares the night before every flight she took. Those finally stopped but she still suffered from well hidden anxiety attacks before takeoff.

Her next flight was to Hawaii to meet the rest of the crew for a shoot. The only reason she wasn’t there already was because her daughter Caroline had a small run in with a basketball and a backboard post, nearly knocking her uncoordinated-self unconscious. Hence, Miranda was delayed a day in travel. Honestly, it was nice to not have everyone tagging along, driving her crazy. That would be over soon enough. Now all she needed to do was find some coffee and figure out what to do for an hour.

Miranda thumbed through e-mail and text messages on her phone as she blindly followed the masses along the terminal hoping to spot a Starbucks kiosk. Finding a text from her daughter Cassidy, she stood still from a minute to re-read it. Apparently Caroline was feeling much better. Great. Now if she could just get Cassidy to stop making fun of the huge bruise of the side of Caroline’s head, she could stop worrying about the twins and could focus on _Runway_.

Miranda put her phone back in bag and glanced at the large windows to her right that overlooked a section of the runway. She felt the blood drain from her face as she spotted a portion of her heart that she had not laid eyes on in over a year.

Her Andrea was sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall behind a mass of chairs. She was surrounded by a clutter of papers and a backpack, and was intently focused on her laptop. It looked like she had been there for a while.

Miranda had waited a long time for a moment like this. She was constantly warring with herself on how to make a move toward reconnecting with Andrea but never seemed to be able to find a starting point. For someone she had not seen or heard from in such a long time, Miranda was dedicated to Andrea in every sense of the word. And now here they were, in this airport terminal, only yards away from one another. How could she not take advantage of that? Miranda took a deep breath and looked around her.

By the grace of God there was a Starbucks kiosk just up ahead. Faith alone told Miranda that she had enough time and that Andrea would not notice her as she walked by. Miranda hurried to the kiosk and retrieved two coffees and a few newspapers. It was now or never.

Miranda made her approach from the side, slipping through the mass of chairs. It just so happened that Andrea’s beautiful long hair was hanging down, shielding her peripheral vision. With each step Miranda’s resolve deepened. She was going to get this girl to fall in love with her or die trying. That’s all.

Taking the last step very carefully, Miranda took a deep breath and held a coffee cup down just out of Andrea’s reach.

“Andrea…” She had meant to say more than that as a ‘hello’ but ran out of breath before the other words even had a chance to be articulated.

Andrea looked up in complete shock. She was even more beautiful than Miranda remembered on a daily basis. “Take this coffee…I didn’t mean to scare you. May I sit?” Miranda gestured to the chair beside her and watched Andrea shake her head in the affirmative and blink a few times. Okay, this wasn’t exactly the reaction Miranda had been hoping for but she would take what she was given and be thankful for it.

“Andrea, put the coffee down before you spill it.” Miranda took a sip of her coffee and set it down beside her. Now what? If Andrea was to remain mute there certainly wouldn’t be much communication going on.

“Andrea, have you lost your voice? I certainly hope not. Otherwise, this conversation is going to be one-sided and I find those to be positively dreadful.”

“I uh…Miranda, I just didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Well, neither did I. In fact, I’m not even supposed to be here. I’m a day late to a shoot. C’ est la vie.” Miranda found it amazing how calm she felt now that she had heard Andrea’s voice. Maybe she could get through this after all.

“I see. This is weird….uh, thank you for the coffee.”

“Weird? You’re welcome. I thought you could use some. If I might inquire, where are you traveling too?”

“Yes, weird. I assumed I would be the very last person you would want to see. I’m heading home. I was here visiting my sister.”

Of course, why wouldn’t she think that? Everything had ended so badly. “Ah, I see. I trust you had a good visit. When is your flight?” Miranda relaxed back into her chair and tried to look casual. The more comfortable she appeared to be, the more comfortable Andrea would become; hence furthering Miranda’s cause.

Andrea finally took a sip of her nearly forgotten coffee. “Hm, I needed this. Thanks again. My flight is…well…who knows. I was supposed to be gone hours ago but my flight was canceled. Plane problems or something. They put me on another flight but I got bumped off of it. Over booked.”

That would have put Miranda over the edge. She could not imagine being stuck in an airport for hours on end. “My goodness. Do you have any hope of ever leaving this fine establishment?”

“I hope so. They have my number. They’re supposed to call me when they have something. I keep checking too. I figure I’ll give it a few more hours then call my sister or something. Honestly, I’m beginning to feel a little bit like Viktor Navorski. Have you ever seen that movie…? The Terminal.”

Miranda couldn’t remember the last time she saw a movie that was not based around her daughter’s tastes. She didn’t have time, but come to think of it, she didn’t make time either. “No, I don’t believe so.”

“You should see it. Long story short, this guy gets stuck in an airport terminal forever. It’s a little sad but very sweet. I’ll never look at a mosaic tiled wall the same way again.”

“I would sooner kill myself.” Absolutely. How does one get stuck in an airport? Did the man not know what a door handle was?

Andrea laughed and Miranda had to suck in a breath. Even thought she had always professed to find it abysmal, Miranda loved that laugh.

“You should see it sometime. I think you would like it…sorry, I know I’m talking too much. You hate that.” Andrea instantly looked nervous again. Miranda realized she was going to have to clear a little of the air between them if there was any hope of Andrea finding a relaxed state.

“I will see if I can carve out some time for that one evening. If you think I would like it then you’re probably right. Andrea, why are you so nervous?”

Miranda could actually see Andrea swallow hard while taking a deep breath. “Because you’re Miranda Priestly…and I’m well, me…and things ended badly, and I mean come on, why would I not be nervous?” Now she was blushing, which was a little odd. Why would you blush if you’re still afraid of your old boss? Interesting.

“Andrea, how about we start with me just being Miranda, and you just being you. I’m no longer your boss, therefore, _Runway_ Miranda Priestly is in the back seat if you will. Work is work…personal is personal. I know you may have a hard time believing that but it’s true. You can relax.”

“Um…okay. I’ll try.”

“Is there anything you would like to talk about? From before?” If there was then that needed to be done quickly. Miranda didn’t have much time before her flight. She had thirty more minutes at best and before it was over Miranda wanted to at least have Andrea’s phone number.

“As in Paris? Honestly?”

“Yes and yes.”

“Not exactly. I really don’t want to talk about it. I’m over it. I made mistakes…by the look on your face right now I think you know you made mistakes too. Can we just bury that?”

What an interesting concept. Could they? Yes, Miranda thought they could and it would certainly be helpful in winning her prize. Now all she had to do was admit that she had made mistakes and it would be over with. Hopefully. “In that case, yes, yes I did make mistakes. Especially where you were concerned. But if you would rather we can certainly leave that whole mess behind us.”

Andrea placed her laptop on the floor and stretched her legs out. The yawn she produced was nothing if not adorable. Okay, this was just as bad as Miranda imagined it to be. She was a complete mess around Andrea.

“Okay we’ll talk about one thing and then really, I’m done. Where did you go wrong with me?” she placed her backpack against the wall and leaned her elbow on it. Miranda wondered how much longer Andrea could stay awake.

“Frankly I should have treated you better. Coming from someone such as myself, I know that’s shocking, but it’s true. You…you were deserving of that and much more.”

Andrea seemed to be trying to gauge how serious Miranda was about the statement she had just made so Miranda matched her stare hoping that it would convey her feelings on the matter. Apparently it worked. “Thank you for saying that. I shouldn’t have left you like that. You deserved better.”

“Thank you. Are we done?”

“Yes. We’re done. How are the girls?”

Miranda began to give Andrea a brief recap of the twin’s latest saga and glanced at her watch mid-way through. Her flight’s boarding call would begin in ten minutes but Miranda already knew she wasn’t going anywhere. As she finished telling Andrea about Caroline’s basketball incident, she pulled out her phone and sent Emily a text message instructing her to call the airline and have them pull her bags from the plane and that she would reschedule her own flight later and to tell Nigel to carry on the best he could. That’s all.

Miranda muted her phone and finished telling Andrea the latest of the twin’s adventures. Andrea returned the favor and told Miranda about her job and some of the more interesting things she had been up to lately. Drawing conclusions from the conversation Miranda figured out that Andrea was in fact single and had been since she quit working at Runway. What a coincidence.

Suddenly something occurred to Miranda. She could not see Andrea’s face. Well she could but not enough. Andrea’s bangs had grown out to match the length of her hair and it was down around her face. It was beautiful, but it interrupted the view. Without thinking Miranda reached down and tucked Andrea’s hair behind her ear on one side. She left her hand there, cupping Andrea’s cheek. The young woman was now completely silent.

“There, that’s better. I couldn’t see your face. I should probably apologize for that move but I’m not going too.”

Andrea didn’t move away from Miranda’s grasp. “No...You shouldn’t apologize. It’s fine. My hair is…”

“Your hair is beautiful.” Miranda pulled her hand away and relaxed back into her chair. “Your hair is beautiful just like the rest of you. I always thought so, you know. Even in the beginning. Your beauty was just a little hidden back then.”

 Andrea blushed “Miranda, I don’t know what to say.”

“There is nothing to say. It was a compliment. Take it. It’s true or I would not have said it. I always thought so. I just couldn’t tell you such things. Not then.”

“Why?”

Miranda was a little taken aback by how straight forward Andrea was being about this. It was refreshing but certainly unexpected. “Besides the fact that I was your boss?”

“Yes, besides the fact that you were my boss. Or was that the only reason?”

“No. It wasn’t the only reason.” Should she be brave for once and just say it? What did she really have to lose? “Andrea, I was a married woman.” There. Let her chew on that for a minute.

Andrea sat absorbing that revelation and studying her hands that were folded in her lap. “Miranda, there is only one reason why that would have mattered.” She did not look up as she spoke.

Miranda leaned down again and lifted Andrea’s chin with her index finger. “Yes, there is only one reason for that answer to be a factor in such a thing…Andrea…I need you in my life. I need you to come back to me. To me. Not Miranda Priestly, but to me.”

Andrea took her hand and kissed her palm. “Miranda, I never left you. I’ve always been right here. I just think we had to find our way back to each other without everything else being in the way.”

Miranda had to dig deep within herself to fight back the tears that threatened, to make a rare appearance. Andrea was right. It would not have worked in any other scenario. If something had happened between them back then it would just have ripped them apart in the end. “I was here too, but I think you’re right. Perhaps everything really does happen for a reason.”

“Perhaps. I feel really good right now.” Andrea smiled and stretched again. Her sleepy look was gone but she still looked exhausted.

“The feeling is mutual. Let’s get out of here. I want to take you to dinner.”

“Miranda you have a flight to catch and I’m hoping I will soon too.”

“Hm…I don’t have a flight to catch.”

“What? You do…you’re going to...”

“No. It turns out that I didn’t get on my plane. I had better things to do.”

Neither one of them would end up finding the time or the ability to care about being on time for a flight for three whole days. And when they did finally return to New York, they would be sitting side by side, holding hands.

***

Andrea waved her hand in front of Miranda‘s face “Hello? Hey, hello in there?”

“What? Oh, yes what were we talking about?”

Andrea smiled “You just relived that whole day in about 10 seconds didn’t you?”

“Hm…it was probably closer to eight seconds this time. Come on. Let’s go watch our movie.” Miranda stood up and pulled Andrea out of her chair. “I love you, Andrea.”

“I love you too Miranda. I always have. Now make some popcorn. I’m ready to go watch poor Viktor round up some quarters for a cheese burger.” 

__

_**Part Three** _

__

“Oh, my God I love this part.” Andrea tossed another piece of popcorn into her mouth.

“Darling, you don’t love this part. You love Zoe Saldana.”

“Oh, whatever…okay. So what, I can’t help it! She’s like smokin’ hot!” Andrea pointed to the TV screen and Miranda rolled her eyes. They had this same conversation every single time they saw this movie.

“Yes, yes I know. If I could trust you to keep your hands off of her I would put her on the cover of _Runway_. But…I’m not sure you can be trusted.” Miranda couldn’t believe she’d just had such a great idea. Next year’s birthday present was solved.

“Whatever. I could keep my hands to myself, I swear.” Andrea put the popcorn on the coffee table and pulled the blanket back around her. “You know I still can’t believe we bought this couch. It so doesn’t go with anything else in this room.

“Since when have you cared about interior design? You’re the one who showed this to me in the first place.”

“I know, I know. I can’t believe you liked it. It’s so huge.” She laughed and hid her face in Miranda’s shoulder.

“Oh, I see. Now you’re embarrassed? As I recall, this ridiculously huge couch was purchased for a very specific reason in mind.” Indeed. Miranda almost didn’t buy it but was brought around to the idea quick enough. It was purchased and delivered the same day.

“I’m not embarrassed…okay maybe a little. We bought a make-out couch, Miranda.”

“Yes we did, and I’m so glad.”

Andrea giggled at Miranda’s frankness over the whole thing. “Alright, now be quiet. You’re distracting me.”

Miranda sat there quietly as they leaned against each other. They had probably seen this movie fifty times in eight months. She didn’t mind though. It brought back some very good memories.

Speaking of good memories, Nigel would no doubt be on a cloud for days and pester Andrea with more questions for weeks. Fabulous. Oh, God. She never told him to keep his mouth shut about the whole _faithful_ part. Andrea called before she could finish and there was no doubt in Miranda’s mind that that would be the very first thing he asked her about. He wouldn’t be able to help himself.

Now she would have to tell her. Why hadn’t she told her already? It wasn’t like it was some huge deal. It just made Miranda look completely crazy that’s all. But really, what would it hurt?

Her thoughts were disturbed by Andrea moving around on the couch. “What are you doing darling?”

“Come on, lay down with me. Grab the other blanket too. It’s cold.”

Miranda moved to lie down against the back of the couch and Andrea snuggled in next to her. The blankets were rearranged and Miranda leaned up on her elbow to see the movie that she really wasn’t interested in anymore.

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yep…like I said, this couch is huge.” Andrea reached under the blankets and pulled Miranda’s free arm around her. “I’m really glad everything went okay with you and Nigel. I mean I figured he would be okay…but still.”

“As am I…please get your feet off of me darling.”

“No way. My feet are freezing.”

“Yes, I’m well aware. Alright then, if you must. But you _will_ be paying for that later.”

“I’ll pay. I promise. You know, I was thinking…he’ll probably call me ten times tomorrow. Actually my cell phone is probably already clogged with voicemails.” Andrea turned and Miranda straightened out both of her arms.

“Come here. Forget about the movie for a bit.” Andrea got settled back into the couch and rested her head on Miranda’s shoulder. “Now…you’re probably right about Nigel. He is probably calling you...”

“Oh well. He can wait till tomorrow. Besides, I’m not really sure what else there is to tell him. You don’t want him to know how all this got started…and he already knows how long it’s been going on. So unless he wants sordid details of our date nights here at home, I’m not sure what else there is to tell him.”

“Darling, I’m not sure Nigel would be able to handle the _sordid_ details. However, there is something else he will want to know more about.”

“Oh, my. Do tell. I can’t wait.” Andrea replied sarcastically.

“Never mind. If you’re not going to be serious about it then I won’t tell you. I’ll let you find out the hard way.” Miranda would let her play around for another minute then they would have to talk.

“That sounds great to me. I was kinda done talking anyways…”

Five minutes later Miranda completely forgot about anything having to do with Nigel Kipling. Who was he anyway? All she knew was that a t-shirt and pair of lounge pants were in the way of her goal.

 Andrea wrapped her arms around Miranda and pulled her night shirt off. “Honey, I think we’re both way over dressed.”

“Darling, I couldn’t agree more.” Miranda pulled Andrea up just enough to remove her t-shirt then set to work getting rid of her pants.

Andrea pulled her into a deep kiss just as Miranda finished throwing the pants across the room. “I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

Miranda kissed her way down Andrea’s throat but came up for air a few seconds later. “Oh? Is there…anything you want? Anything in particular you had in mind?” She went back to worshiping Andrea’s body with hot, teasing kisses over her collar bone and down between her breasts as she waited for her answer.

“Oh, God…I…I you know I think it’s so sweet that you always ask me that, but...oh, God…Miranda.”

Miranda moaned when she felt Andrea’s hands in her hair. She could do this all day and all night, every day. She moaned again as she kissed the smooth skin of Andrea’s breasts. “But what, darling?”

“I…you know my answer…oh, yes…” Andrea pulled Miranda’s head back up and looked into her eyes while Miranda moved her hands over Andrea’s body. “It’s always the same. Everything. Anything.” She drew Miranda into a deep kiss and wrapped her legs around her.

Miranda realized fairly quickly in their relationship that she would come to live off things like this. Come to live off Andrea’s embrace, off of her love. It fueled Miranda and kept her sane, kept her grounded like nothing else ever had. This was everything she needed to survive. Just this love, just this embrace was all she wanted.

***

The next morning Andy found herself in a tangle of legs and sheets. Miranda was pressed against her back and her arm was draped over Andy’s side. She turned in Miranda’s arm and stretched. Waking up with Miranda every morning was the best thing in Andy’s life; especially the mornings after they had spent the night making love. Like last night.

After they made good use of the ‘make-out couch’, the two of them barely  had enough time to throw their clothes back on before the girls returned home from a school outing to see a play. Miranda joked that one day they would have to start setting an alarm. Which was probably true. It was getting harder and harder to remember to pay attention to the clock on nights like those and Andy would need therapy if they were ever caught by the kids. Period.

Miranda stirred briefly then settled down again. It amazed Andy how peaceful Miranda was when she slept. She was like a completely different person. Totally calm, almost angelic. Almost. That would all end though when Miranda woke up. She was decidedly not a morning person. The process went better when Andy was able to wake her up instead of an alarm clock and thank God that was happening this morning because Andy wasn’t in the mood for ‘The Grouch’ today.

Andy began to caress Miranda’s back in slow circles and prayed for an easy morning. “Miranda…wake up honey.” She kissed her forehead and her lips then waited. Miranda stirred again and opened her eyes just a sliver. “There ya go…wake up.” She kissed her mouth again gently.

Miranda mumbled a ‘no’ and closed her eyes again. Oh, boy. It looked like an easy morning had already come and gone. Andy wondered how Miranda had ever gotten up before she came along. Maybe she just liked sleeping more now since spending time in bed was a lot more fun these days.

“Yes…you gotta get up. Remember? You’re the Editor of the biggest, best and most important magazine in the entire world…universe….galaxy.”

Miranda opened her eyes. “What...No I’m not…I quit.”

 Usually giving Miranda an early morning ego boost worked wonders but apparently she must have out done herself last night. Which really wasn’t a bad thing but God help the Runway minions today. They wouldn’t have a clue that they were suffering Miranda’s wrath all because of a night spent making love. Oh, well. Poor minions.

“Miranda.”

Suddenly Miranda’s eyes opened almost all the way and stared at Andy with a mixture of hate and confusion. “Coffee…I’m not getting out of this bed until there’s a cup of coffee next to me. That’s all.”

Okay, _now_ she was awake. Andy patted her hip then climbed out of bed. One cup of searing hot coffee comin’ up.

***

As Andy predicted, she had voicemails and texts waiting on her when she finally decided to look at her phone that morning. After a few hours at work she called Nigel and the first words out of his mouth were “Oh. My. God. You…and Miranda?”

“Yes Nigel. Me and Miranda.” Andy laughed.

“Lunch. We must have lunch. I want all the details. Every single one. Well except for, you know… _those_ details. I do not need to hear about Miranda’s sex life.” Nigel snorted.

“Yeah well all I can tell you about that is that she is fucking awesome.”

“Hello, darling I said I _didn’t_ want to hear that!”

‘I know…why do you think I told you? So, lunch?”

“You’re pure evil. Yes, lunch. Franklin’s at noon?”

“Sounds good, see you there babe.”

At noon sharp Andy walked through the door of Franklin’s. The majority of lunch was spent simply recounting everything that Miranda had already told Nigel. She thought long and hard about telling the details of their airport meeting but decided it would be in her best interest to respect Miranda’s wishes in that matter. But when Nigel asked her about moving in, she felt comfortable enough to divulge how that all came about.

“So, what exactly did she do? Just come right out and ask you?” Nigel was all ears and wide eyed.

“Hm..sort of.” Andy spread her hands across the table and smiled just thinking about it.

**_ HOW IT ALL HAPPENED…INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW _ **

The whole month of August was a complete whirlwind for them both. Miranda was busy wrapping up the upcoming September Issue and Andy was covering a scandal at City Hall that was getting bigger every day. Their time together was cut drastically but both of them took it in stride.

Toward the end of the month Miranda asked her to stay the night in the middle of the week which was something they had not done at all since this little hectic period began. Andy eagerly agreed so long as she was left alone long enough to complete an article she needed to work on that night.

When she got to the townhouse, Miranda was waiting for her at the door.

“Hey, you.” Andy laid her bags down on the floor and they hugged each other tightly. It had been six days since they’d seen each other.

“Hello darling. It’s good to see you.”

No time was wasted in making up for all that lost time in the kissing department but Miranda finally broke away.

“Are you okay you look weird?”

Miranda waved her off and started to walk with her to the kitchen. “Oh, yes I’m fine…” Suddenly she stopped and faced Andy in the hallway. “Well not really. I was going to wait till the girls got back. They’ll kill me for this but I can’t wait any longer. Come upstairs with me.”

“What?” Surely she wasn’t talking about a quickie because they had yet to even come close to being able to have one of those and it wasn’t from lack of trying. It was from lack of restraint.

“Will you just come on.”

“Okay, okay.” Andy let herself be lead up the stairs to the second floor and down the hall toward Miranda’s study.

Miranda didn’t stop at her study door though, but kept going toward the guest bedroom beside the study.

“Alright darling, I have something in here for you. I hope you like it…but if you don’t, we’ll fix it.”

This was odd because Andy couldn’t imagine why anything behind this door would be for her. All that was behind this door was a ton of boxes of old issues of _Runwa_ y and files that Miranda should have done something with years ago. Not to mention a bed and a bunch of lamps Miranda refused to part with. Who wouldn’t kill to know that Miranda was a closet procrastinator and a lamp hoarder in her private life?

Miranda opened the door and Andy found it hard to move. Everything that had been there before, all the boxes, the bed, the old lamps and all the other crap was gone. In its place was the best looking home office Andy had ever seen in her life.

“Are you kidding me? You’re kidding me right? Wow.”

Andy walked in and turned a full circle in the room, taking in her surroundings. Everything was different. The walls were now covered in dark paneled wood, there were book shelves everywhere you looked, along with a big screen TV on the wall opposite the desk. And the desk? It was huge.

“No darling, I am not kidding. I hope you like it.”

“Like it? I love it! You’ve been busy doing more than work haven’t you?”

“I decided to use this time to my advantage, yes. The uh…I had trouble with the couch.” She pointed to it; it was on the wall to the left of the desk. “The twins picked it out. I’m not crazy about a leather couch but I lost the war.”

Andy laughed and pulled her to sit down on it. “Oh, I love it. They’re pretty smart.”

“Yes, well. They are my children after all. Darling, there is a purpose for all…this.” Miranda waved her hand over the room. “We want you to move in, the girls and I.”

Andy blinked a few times and was at a loss for words. She wanted to move in with Miranda, had wanted to for a while but never mentioned it because she figured that Miranda wasn’t ready. Apparently she was. “Are you sure? I mean…my answer is a definite yes, but I want you to be sure. We’ve only been together for six months and honestly, I never expected you to be ready for this, this soon.”

Miranda stood up and started walking around the room, intently studying the empty bookshelves. “Well I am. It’s odd but six months feels like a lot longer than that to me. A lot longer.” She chuckled quietly and tapped her lips with her finger. “In fact, I think I was ready the moment I saw you in the airport.”

Andy walked over to her and put her hands on Miranda’s hips. “Then my answer is yes. Yes, I will move in. I do have one question though. Where is all the stuff that was in here?”

Miranda blushed, and guided her over to the pocket door that was now built into the wall between their rooms. She opened it and mumbled a ‘ta-da’.

“Oh, my God.” Miranda’s study was full of boxes.

“I know. I’m going through all these. I had some new shelves built, see. The magazines are going there and I’m shredding most of this old paper work or sending it to the office where a lot of it actually belongs. I got rid of the bed…the lamps are in the basement.”

“Well if this is what it took to get you to go through all that crap then praise God.” Andy moved fast before Miranda could grab her.

“You can shut up any time.”

***

“So there it is. That’s how she asked me to move in.”

“My, my. I’m quickly finding out that I know less and less about Miranda. Especially this romantic side. I had no idea.”

“I know. She surprises me every day.” Andy couldn’t help but sport a huge smile.

“Well, I can certainly understand what she meant when she said it felt like you two had been together longer than six months.” He laughed.

“What do you mean?”

“Darling you know. All that business about being faithful. As I told her, it’s easily the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. It even trumps her having the office built for you.”

Andy had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Faithful? Was Miranda prone to _not_ being faithful or what? “What are you talking about?”

Nigel waved his hands in the air dramatically. “That whole business about how long it was. My, God she was faithful to you for well over a year before she ever saw you in that airport! You can’t get more romantic than that.”

Andy took long drink of water. Over a year? “Okay, you’re gonna need to spell it out for me because I’m not understanding you.”

Nigel got an apprehensive look on his face but Andy wasn’t about to let him blow this off. “Oh, no. Tell me or I’ll tell Miranda about you having hot and heavy sex with your boy-toy in _The Closet_ last month. The look of horror on his face spoke volumes.

Nigel cleared his throat “She told me that when she figured out how she felt about you…she was faithful to you from then on. No dates, no Stephen.”

Okay, now she was even more lost than before this conversation even got started. “No Stephen?”

“Yes, no Stephen. Six, she couldn’t sleep with him anymore.”

Andy’s voice dropped down to a whisper. “That’s why she never dated anyone after…that’s why she…oh, God. That’s why he left her finally. The sex, the everything. Remember when everything started to really get bad? Before Paris? He was calling the office all the time bitching and whining about whatever?”

“Yes, I remember quite plainly. What an ass. I am so glad he moved. I was getting sick of seeing his sad face in the papers.”

Before Andy could say anything else her cell phone rang. It was work. The Mayor’s Office was about to hold a press conference and she needed to get down there quickly. “Nigel, I hate to run but duty calls. Listen, don’t say anything to Miranda about this. In fact steer clear of her for the rest of the day.”

“Sure Six. My lips are sealed. I have two meetings outside the office that will take up most of the day so I should be able to avoid Her Majesty. It was good to see you. We’ll do this again soon.”

Andy kissed him on the cheek then headed out with a promise of more lunches and gossip.

***

By seven-thirty that night Andy still had not had a chance to talk to Miranda and hadn’t even received a phone call from her. Andy figured Miranda was just waiting to be confronted. No doubt she realized that Nigel would divulge her _secret_ today.

Andy was tired and hungry and wanted nothing more than to go home and relax but this had to be taken care of now. Tonight was Miranda’s customary late night at the office so Andy hailed a cab to the Elise-Clarke building. On Monday’s and Thursday’s Miranda always stayed late. Every other night she was home by seven.

Once Andy arrived at the building she was prepared to have security call Miranda to gain permission to go up to the _Runway_ offices, but she quickly found out that that wasn’t necessary. Apparently Miranda had a permanent pass made for her today. Sweet.

Andy took a deep breath and got on the elevator. A flood of good and some not so good memories ran through mind as she tried to mentally prepare and figure out what she was going to say. It wasn’t like she was angry, but there were a few things that needed to be said on the matter. Then just like everything else with their past, Andy intended to drop it.

When Andy stepped out of the elevator, she was immediately met with Emily’s stunned face. She knew. Andy wasn’t going to waste time chatting or explaining anything so she just nodded a hello and walked right past her.

Miranda was standing at the round table in the corner by the window with her back toward the door. The table was cluttered with binders which Miranda was flipping through at a rapid pace. Andy leaned against the door frame watching her. Miranda’s level of concentration had always astonished Andy. Nothing got in the way of her mind’s work.

Enough day dreaming. “So…almost two years?” Andy said quietly.

Miranda stood up straight but didn’t turn around right away. She was probably running through a myriad of responses in her head. Finally she turned and leaned against table with her arms folded over her chest. “Yes. I’m sorry you had to hear that from him.”

Andy nodded. “It’s ok you tried to tell me last night. I realize that now. Can I get rid of her?” She motioned toward Emily with her head. Miranda nodded back.

Andy left the office and told Emily to leave. Emily couldn’t form words to reply but was gone in three seconds without argument. Andy walked back into Miranda’s office and closed the doors, locking them. Miranda had not moved from her spot by the table so Andy remained by the door. This would obviously be a meeting in the middle.

“This is why you said it felt like we’d been together longer?”

“Yes.”

Andy looked down at the floor. Miranda had new carpet. Nice. “You’ve been with me for a long time then…”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why did you wait so long?”

“I was trying to develop  a plan.”

“Hm. Well I can’t beat you up about that because I certainly wasn’t making any fast moves either. We’re both cowards.”

“Yes.”

Andy pushed herself off the door frame and took a few steps closer. “When did you know? Really know?”

“When did I really know? When you came up the stairs that time. After you left, the fight got worse…Stephen said things about you; about how I seemed to rely on you more…than the others. Then he had the gall to ask me…” Miranda stopped and took a deep breath. There was a flash of anger in her eyes. “He asked me if you were the kind of girl that would fuck your boss’s husband…and I went ballistic. Completely and totally ballistic.”

Miranda unfolded her arms and rubbed her temples. She looked like she had more to say so Andy opted to not interrupt. Besides, she didn’t have the words for how she felt right now. “It was then that I knew what my feelings all came down to. All I wanted was you and I couldn’t touch him again after that. It was over.”

Andy fought the urge to go over to her. There was just one more thing she really needed to know. “And in Paris? When he told you he wanted a divorce? You were upset…”

“Because of the girls as I said…and because I was finally free but had no clue what to do.” Miranda looked her right in the eyes. “It wasn’t like I could lay everything out on the table right then. So instead I acted like a complete fool to get you out of the room as fast as possible.”

Andy took a second to think. Now things made a hell of a lot more sense. It was like little light bulbs were going off in her head. Light bulbs? Yes, it was way too bright in here for what Andy had in mind. She went over to the door again and flipped the light switch off. Now all that illuminated the room was a lamp at Miranda’s desk. She took her jacket off, threw it into a chair and walked over to Miranda.

“Come sit with me.” She took Miranda’s hand and led her to the couch in the corner but stopped her before she sat down. “No. Sit here. Andy sat down and pointed to her lap. Miranda looked back toward the door then back at Andy with a questioning look. “Come on. No one can see you from here and the door is locked.” 

Miranda raised an eyebrow but slipped out of her heels in spite of her apparent hesitation and straddled Andy’s lap like it was something she did in her office every day.

Andy was actually a little stunned that Miranda even agreed. “My, my…you hardly even argued with me.”

“Yes, and if you don’t kiss me I’m getting up.”

“Well we wouldn’t want that now would we?” Andy pulled her closer and kissed her gently. “Is that better?”

“Yes.” Miranda looked into her eyes; there was a slight blush on her cheeks. “I’m sorry I never told you all that before.”

“Shh. Enough about all that. I know now and it’s done. Miranda I’m used to you telling me things when you’re ready to. It’s just how you are. I trust you to not keep the really important things from me. That’s all I ask.”

“I won’t.”

“I know.” Andy kissed her again and pushed Miranda’s dress up a little higher up her thighs. “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?”

Miranda leaned down and whispered in her ear. “No…not yet.”

“Well, let me correct that. You’re beautiful Miranda.” Andy’s hands traveled up Miranda’s thighs under her dress. Her skin was hot. “You know I used to think about this. All the time.”

“Think about what?” Miranda was busy kissing down Andy’s jaw and unclipping her hair.

“About having you right here on this couch.” Miranda jerked forward when Andy started tracing the edges of her silk panties, Andy smiled. “Don’t move.”

“Oh, now you’re into torture?” Miranda moaned and immediately disobeyed Andy’s order by moving against her hand again as she cupped Miranda between her legs.

“No, not exactly. But if you won’t do as I ask then I’ll have to resort to other measures.” Andy wrapped an arm around Miranda’s waist, trapping her in place. “Don’t move Miranda.” She looked into Miranda’s eyes and had to fight not to laugh when she saw Miranda swallow hard. After all, Miranda was not used to having someone tell her what to do.

“What if I want too?” She tried again but Andy held her still.

“You can when I tell you.” Andy slowly moved Miranda’s panties aside. Miranda was wet and ready, but Andy wasn’t about to give her what she wanted yet. She teased her slowly and kept her still. Making a woman like Miranda squirm was a total thrill. She was so in control of everything around her all the time and having her at your mercy was the sexiest thing Andy had ever seen.

Miranda whimpered “Andrea..this is..you’re killing me.”

“No, not quite.” Andy moved her fingers over Miranda clit and held her tightly in place. “You know…I wonder, did you think about me? Like this? All those months that you were alone? Did you?”

Miranda almost growled her answer out of pure frustration. “Yes. Yes I did.”

Andy slid one finger into Miranda and allowed her to sink down just a little before holding Miranda tightly again. “Don’t move.”

Miranda took a deep breath and pulled at Andy’s hair, kissing her hard and deep. She couldn’t resist any longer and began stroking her with two fingers now. Miranda finally broke away and moved forward more on Andy, unable to keep herself upright any longer. Andy almost had her right where she wanted her. Ready to beg.

“Did you think about me doing this to you? Did you think about me being inside you?”

Miranda answered breathlessly, “Yes…yes.”

Andy picked up the pace a little and added a third finger. Miranda bucked against her hard but Andy kept holding her in place. “When I asked you…the first time…if you had ever been with another woman, do you remember what you said?”

Miranda sat up for a second and grabbed Andy’s shirt collar with both hands. “I said yes…oh, God…Andrea…I said yes…because I’d already had you hundreds of times in my mind.”

“That’s right. You feel so good Miranda. So good. I can never have enough of you.” Andy fought again to keep control. But no, one thought, one second later she couldn’t stop herself anymore. Andy caressed Miranda clit with her thumb and stilled her hand. Miranda whimpered in protest.

“No…no please don’t stop. Oh, God…no. Please.” She was digging her nails into Andy’s back and shoulders now. This was it. Now Andy could let go.

She removed her arm from around Miranda for a moment, caressing her cheek and brushing her hair back. “Look at me Miranda.” Miranda lifted her head and looked into Andy’s eyes. “You can move now.”

Miranda didn’t waste another second. Andy kept her hand still and let Miranda do all the work which she appeared to be totally happy with. Miranda wrapped her arms around Andy’s neck and kissed her, biting and sucking at her bottom lip and tongue. When Andy increased the pressure of her thumb Miranda forgot all about trying to be quiet and cried out every time she thrust down on Andy’s hand.

Andy held Miranda’s head up and kept her eyes focused on her. She wanted to be looking into Miranda’s eyes when she finally let go. “I’m glad you waited Miranda…” Andy was having a hard time catching her breath. “I’m glad you waited…I’m glad you were faithful to me all that time.”

Miranda dropped her forehead against Andy’s and found enough strength to reply “I had to wait…You’re the only thing I’ve ever wanted that badly. Oh, God…Andrea…harder…please.”

Andy granted her wish and moved against her clit harder and faster and not a minute later Miranda took Andy’s face in her hands and kissed her. With one last thrust of her hips she came, literally screaming into Andy’s mouth.

Andy gently pulled her hand away and wrapped both of her arms around Miranda who was now limp and collapsed against her. “I love you Miranda.”

“I…yes..darling, I love you too. Oh, God.”

“Thank you for waiting…thank you for being faithful to me all that time even when we were apart.” Andy felt a huge swell of emotion rise up in her chest and almost thought she was going to cry.

Miranda took a deep breath and sat up again with her hands on Andy’s shoulders. “You should never thank me for that. It was just what I had to do, what I will always do. I won’t ever leave you.”

“I don’t think I could survive losing you so that’s a good thing.” Instead of crying like she was about to, Andy decided to change the subject. “Hey, guess what?”

“What darling?” Miranda laughed.

“Now that we’ve christened your office couch, the next step is your desk.” Andy gave her a hopeful look.

“Oh, you think so?”

“Yep, I know so. You can’t resist me.”

“Hm…well you might be right about that. Next week…come back next week and we’ll see if I can resist you then.”

“I can do that. I have faith in my abilities. Lots of faith.”

Miranda kissed her gently. “I do too darling…I do too.”

__


End file.
